Just a Push
by MoonytheMarauder1
Summary: After the war, Ron decides that enough is enough and sets Percy up on a date. To his surprise, his date is a man Percy hadn't expected to ever see again—and maybe still had feelings for.


**A/N: Hey y'all! This was written for Hogwarts. Prompts are below :)**

**Word Count: 2705**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Those rights go to JK Rowling.**

**Enjoy!**

"Percy, this is no time to panic!"

"This is the perfect time to panic!" Percy shook his head, horrified by what Ron had just told him. "You can't honestly expect me to go."

Ron shot him a stern look that Percy still wasn't used to seeing on his thirty-year-old brother's face. "Of course I do; I said you would, didn't I?"

Percy groaned. Around them, kids of various ages were running around, enjoying the summer weather. Harry and Ginny had brought a large inflatable pool that some of Percy's younger nieces and nephews were playing in.

Looking around the Burrow's garden, Percy could see why Ron wanted him to find someone—he was the only Weasley kid who hadn't. He couldn't deny that he longed for a family of his own, but he felt that getting set up on blind dates was not the way to go.

"For the sake of the peace of the family, I shall let you live," Percy ground out, glaring at his brother from behind his glasses. "But I'm not going to forget this."

Ron rolled his blue eyes. "Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing."

Percy thought back on their childhood. He'd caught Ron sneaking around school, kissing his girlfriends in empty corridors, sneaking into the girls' toilets, planning horrendous pranks as distractions so he could slip away on dangerous life-threatening missions… then more recently helping George manufacture pranking items, kissing his wife in closets—no, setting Percy up on blind dates was definitely the worst of them.

Percy raised a red brow as he turned back to the gardening he was doing; the weeds weren't going to pull themselves, after all. "I beg to differ," he grumbled. "Why did you tell Charlie, anyway? You know he can't keep a secret."

Ron shrugged. His daughter Rose came over, her wild hair even messier from all her running. He kissed the girl on the nose and put her up on his shoulders before he responded to Percy.

"Tactical error on my part. The point is, Perce, you can't just hide inside yourself forever. You deserve to be happy."

Little Albus came rushing over, crying about how there was no room in the pool. Percy grabbed the hose and put his thumb over the rush of water, creating a makeshift sprinkler that he playfully aimed at the boy. He turned back to Ron.

"I never said I didn't deserve to be happy," he said, disgruntled, over the noise of squealing children.

Ron sighed and put Rose down with instructions to go play with her brother. She pouted, but obeyed. "Percy, you haven't gone on a date since before the Battle of Hogwarts. And before you protest, yes, it's true. George and I have been keeping track."

Ron's freckled hand reached out and grabbed Percy's. "I… I know that what happened to Fred is hard," he murmured, looking down at the ground. "I know that a part of you blames yourself, even though that's bloody ridiculous. But he'd want you to be happy, and if this is the push you need, then dammit I'm doing it."

Percy swiped a hand across his brow, defeated. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

Ron grinned in triumph. "Hell no. Get ready—it's tonight at eight. Harry agreed to drop you off."

Percy's head snapped up. "_Tonight?_ When were you planning on telling me?"

"At seven," Ron replied promptly. "Oh, don't look at me like that. It's for your own good. And who knows? Maybe you'll have fun."

Percy scowled at one of the Muggle garden gnomes their father had put up to scare away the real gnomes. "I don't have to be with someone to be happy."

Ron's eyes narrowed. "No, you don't have to be. But I'm not as blind as people think—and anyway, Hermione's pointed it out, too. You want what everyone else has, you just won't let yourself have it because you're under the impression that you don't deserve it."

"I—"

"No." Ron held up a hand. "Might as well go inside and cool down. It's nearly five o'clock—go take a shower and get ready. Mum'll need time to get her cry out of the way."

Percy swallowed. There was no getting out of it; this was really happening.

* * *

"Maybe we should just turn around—"

Harry had the gall to laugh. They were on their way to wherever Ron had arranged for Percy to meet the mystery man, and there was an uneasiness in his stomach that he couldn't shake.

"Percy, we can't turn around. We made a commitment, and you of all people know how important it is to keep those."

Percy picked nervously at the sleeve of his dark blue shirt. "I'm thirty-four, Harry. I'm a man with a stable Ministry job and an esteemed reputation in society. I—"

"Exactly, you're a catch," Harry interrupted, his green eyes sparkling with humor.

Percy scowled and crossed his arms. "That's not what you were supposed to take from that. I'm independent, and I'm happy that way."

"Hmm." Harry kept his eyes on the road. "Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself more than me."

Percy growled with frustration. "You and Ron are just alike."

His brother-in-law grinned. "Just be glad Ginny isn't driving you—she's much more stubborn than we are." He parked the car. "Have fun, Percy. You deserve it."

"Wait." Percy grabbed Harry's shoulder. "Do you know who it is?"

Harry ran a hand through his untidy dark hair. "Yeah, I do. Ginny knows him through work—Ron met him and had the idea to set the two of you up."

"Ginny works with him?" Percy asked in surprise. "But Ginny is… tell me he's not a Quidditch player."

"He's professional and everything," Harry said eagerly. It was common knowledge that if Harry hadn't been an Auror, he'd have played for England. "He's really good."

Percy closed his eyes. "Remind me why I went along with this?"

Harry twisted around in his seat and put a hand on the older man's shoulder. "Because deep down you know we're right. Oh look, he's coming over." The Chosen One stuck his head out the car window and flagged someone over. Percy quickly got out of the car.

His breath caught in his throat when he saw who was approaching. Ron was dead.

A blinding smile was thrown his way. "Percy Weasley! Long time, no see."

Percy cleared his throat and straightened his collar, pretending to be oblivious to Harry's large grin as he watched from inside the car. "Yes, Roger, hello."

Roger Davies grinned. "Remember me, then? I wasn't sure you would—I was two years below you in school, after all."

Oh, he remembered him all right—Roger was Percy's greatest what-if. In school, he'd been drawn in by that athletic ability and sarcastic tone, the perceptiveness Roger possessed and his optimism… But when Percy was seventeen, his self-esteem hadn't been much better than it was now. The acquaintanceship they'd built had ended when Percy left for the Ministry.

Percy forced out a laugh. "You were quite the sensation on the Quidditch Pitch." It wasn't a lie, but that wasn't the reason Percy recognized him. There had been a brief time before school ended when he'd considered asking out this very man… before his own insecurities kept him from approaching the Chaser.

Roger laughed, his dark hair falling into his brilliant blue eyes. "I suppose that's true. Still, you were always the more impressive one—prefect and a Ministry man straight out of school, isn't that right?"

Percy flushed slightly at the compliment; he heard Harry laugh and drive away. "Erm, yes, that's correct."

Roger nodded and offered his arm. "Thought so. Shall we?"

Percy raised a brow; he wasn't going to walk anywhere hanging off of the Quidditch player's arm. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "Not that type, sorry. Let's get inside."

If Roger was offended, Percy didn't stick around to see it—he crossed the parking lot and entered the nearest shop. He wasn't sure if this was where he was _supposed_ to go, but when Roger didn't call him out he figured frozen yogurt was the date night Ron had planned.

At least it wasn't anything fancy.

The two ordered and paid for their dessert—or rather, Roger did when Percy wasn't looking—and sat down at a secluded table in the corner.

"So." Roger took a bite of his orange and mango mix, and Percy found himself unable to be annoyed by his flawless straight-toothed smile. "You look great tonight."

Merlin, were they flirting now? He was too out of practice for this. "Thank you. As do you."

It was the truth—Roger looked rather dashing in his black cloak and dragon hide boots. To Percy's surprise, the other man beamed at his sorry attempt to return the compliment.

"Thanks! I wasn't sure what you'd be expecting, so this is a bit of a relief."

Percy laughed a little awkwardly. "Thank you for coming tonight, by the way. I'm sure my brother was… persistent."

Roger waved his spoon in the air. "Nah, Ron's fine. If I'm honest, it was a welcome invitation."

Percy paused and frowned, trying to decipher his words. Davies was a renowned Quidditch star—his looking forward to this date didn't add up. He hadn't even known who'd he be seeing.

Eventually, Percy just cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses. "Is that so?"

Roger nodded. "Yeah. Since it was your brother asking me if I wanted to give it a go, I had a pretty good idea that it would be one of his brothers—and I happen to know that you're the only one still single." He winked.

Percy didn't know what to say to that. Roger had cared enough to keep track of that? Percy originally thought that their relationship at school had only been mild attraction—Roger had flirted with him occasionally at school, but at the time Percy had dismissed it as teasing—but he hadn't dreamed that the the Quidditch star would care about such things after school.

Roger sensed his discomfort; he was surprisingly sensitive about others' emotions. "I'm sure you have a whole bundle of nieces and nephews now. Care to tell me about them?"

Percy smiled genuinely. This was a topic he could go on and on about. "Well, there's Teddy, Harry's godson and as good as a nephew to the rest of us."

"Professor Lupin's kid?"

"Yes," Percy confirmed, a touch of sadness coloring his voice. He continued. "There's Victoire and Dominique, Fleur and Bill's children; Louis is on the way. George married Angelina, did you know? Theirs are Roxanne and Freddy—both just like Fred and George."

Roger grinned, delighted. "Little pranksters in the making?"

Percy laughed. "I don't know why I expected anything less. Charlie's in Romania at the moment, hitting it off with another dragon wrangler there… we talk over the telephone. He's the one who let slip that I was coming here tonight, actually."

Amusement shone in Roger's eyes. "No one told you."

Percy rolled his eyes. "No. Ron wanted to keep it a secret until an hour before I had to leave."

Roger burst into laughter, and Percy had to admit he saw the humor in the situation.

"I knew it wouldn't be a mistake, coming here with you," Roger said happily. "I knew it would be worthwhile."

Percy's brow creased. "You came because you thought it would be me?"

Roger shrugged. "Yeah."

"Why?"

The question seemed to startle Roger, but he regained his composure fairly quickly. "Your mere presence is intoxicating. I've thought so since… well, since school. But by the time I'd figured all that out, you'd graduated and moved on to bigger and better things…"

Percy flinched and looked down. "They weren't better."

Roger looked taken aback. "You fought in the battle. Everyone knows that."

Percy looked at him sharply. "I'm not a hero, D—Roger. Fighting on the right side doesn't make you a hero."

His words were harsh and coarse, but they needed to be said. Percy couldn't stand it when he was treated like someone worth celebrating. There were people he couldn't save, and he'd come too late…

To his great shock, Roger snorted. "Merlin, you virtuous Weasleys. The old, the true, the brave."

Percy shook his head in confusion. "What?"

Roger sighed. "Your family—for generations—has stood up for and protected everyone they can. You come from a long line of heroes—do you even realize how high your moral standards are? Neutrality is foreign to you all. You have to be the brave ones, you have to stand up for what you believe to be true."

Percy bristled. This sounded like a slight, and he'd heard enough of those against his family for a lifetime. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Roger replied calmly, "that just because you weren't as active in the war as the rest of your family, it doesn't mean you're any less a hero than they are. You still risked your life at the end. Isn't that enough?"

Percy closed his eyes. "I should have done more."

"How many people who fought on the light side were Order members?" Roger challenged. "How many of those students were members of Dumbledore's Army? And how many more people stayed home? You are a hero."

Percy swallowed. Roger had a point, he knew, but he couldn't discuss this. Too many memories were resurfacing—this was supposed to be a fun night. "I… I can't talk about this tonight."

Roger looked hesitant to let the subject drop, but he settled with reaching out to squeeze Percy's hand. The older man flushed at the contact.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought that up." His apology was sincere, at least. Roger's eyes softened. "I really am glad you came tonight."

Percy peered at him closely. It was odd, but despite the turn their conversation had taken, he was already much more open with Roger than he was with most. Maybe he hadn't been as over his feelings for the younger man than he'd thought. Could feelings like this fester untouched for seventeen years?

He finished off his yogurt. "So am I," he murmured. He glanced towards Roger. "How's Quidditch, then?"

Roger happily began explaining the finer points of his career, and Percy felt the tension gradually leave his shoulders as the night wore on. They could touch on the tougher topics later; right now, it was nice just to have someone who wanted to be around him.

And as much as he hated to admit it, he enjoyed it.

* * *

Percy climbed out of the cab he'd called and headed into the Burrow, a soft smile on his face. He slipped through the door quietly, only to find Harry and Ron waiting up for him.

The two men looked entirely too smug. "Hello, brother," Ron greeted with a grin on his face. "How'd it go?"

Percy squared his shoulders and did his best to appear unimpressed. "It was fine. I'm not sure why you're still awake. Don't fathers fall asleep as soon as their kids do?"

Harry stretched and yawned. "Believe me, I wanted to." Ron shoved his shoulder.

It was so odd, but Percy felt the exact opposite—he felt energized like he hadn't in years. It was like he'd been living in a black and white world and he was suddenly seeing in color. Roger had opened up doors Percy had tried so hard to keep closed… and he found that he didn't entirely mind.

The back door opened, and Ginny hobbled in with her high heels in her hand. Her free hand was hanging onto the wall. "Stop staring at me and help me," she told her husband. "I had to practically run in these to get back in time to hear all about Percy's date." She waggled her red eyebrows, and Percy turned a shade of scarlet.

"There's nothing to tell," he insisted weakly as Harry helped Ginny over to the couch.

"We're not stupid," Ginny shot back, unimpressed. "Go on, I didn't kill my feet for nothing."

Percy headed to the stairwell. "There's a second date, and that's all I'm saying."

He pretended not to hear Ron whoop behind him.

**A/N:**

**Writing Club: **

**Assorted Appreciation: 6. Alice Young — Write about someone accused of being something/doing something**

**Disney Challenge: Dialogue 2. "[Name], this is no time to panic!" / "This is the perfect time to panic!"**

**Trope of the Month: Blind date!au: 15. (sexuality) gay**

**Book Club: Zeus — (season) summer, (color) dark blue, (dialogue) "For the sake of the peace of the family, I shall let you live."**

**Showtime: 7. Do You Wanna Ride? — (food) frozen yogurt **

**Amber's Attic: 3. Percy/Roger Davies**

**Sophie's Shelf: 14. Velaryon — "The old, the true, the brave."**

**Liza's Loves: 15. "I've never felt so insecure." - It Wasn't Enough**

**Angel's Arcade: Sophita — (dialogue) "It's for your own good.", (action) shaking his/her head, (word) virtuous**

**Lo's Lowdown: 5. (item) high heels**

**Bex's Basement: 4. Arthur Weasley — Write about a loving father**

**Film Festival: 13. (object) cloak**

**Seasonal Challenges:**

**Days of the Year: 25th April — Write about opposites attracting**

**Spring: 10. (word) energised**

**Earth: 18. (object) garden gnome**

**Amanda's Challenge: Fandoms 9. The Vampire Diaries — alt. "Hello, brother."**

**Gym: Madam Pomfrey: Playful**

**Truth or Dare: Dare: "Your mere presence is intoxicating."**

**Paint by Numbers: Orange: 12. Black**

**Constellation Club: Corvus: Hurt/comfort**

**Fortnightly:**

**Jazzy June: 14. VernonPetunia — (action) gardening, (object) hose, (word) cool, (setting) pool**

**I Am Iron Man: Iron Man: 2. "Let's face it, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing." - Tony Stark**

**365 Words: 365. Flawless**

**Scavenger Hunt: Write a pairing with less than 50 stories on ffn**

**Insane House Challenge: 273. "Stop staring at me and help me."**


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